Are You Challenging Yourself Enough?

If you are feeling a bit bored, or complacent, and you are tired of the same old, same old then it is obvious you need to challenge yourself a bit more.  If you want to shake things up, here are 3 key areas to consider working on:

1. Professionally- what goals have you set recently?  What steps are you taking to achieve those goals?  Long after we have completed our studies and established our careers, we need to continue to find opportunities for learning and expanding our minds.  Thankfully there are plenty of great webinars or continuing education programs out there, and if you feel you need some personal assistance find a mentor or career coach that can give you an extra push in the right direction.

2. Personally- are your personal relationships bringing you joy and/or helping you grow emotionally?  If not, it's definitely time to try something different, and since you can't force others to change, focus on yourself.  Are your expectations too high of others?  Do you make a lot of assumptions?  Both of these tendencies can cause you major disappointment.  At the other end of the spectrum, maybe you are the one that is self-sabatoging?  Do you have some self-destructive tendencies or bad habits that you need to break?  Work on yourself-- only once you do that will you attract the right kind of people into your world.

3. Physically- when is the last time you felt sore after a good workout?  If you are tired of your routine, maybe splurge on a few sessions with a personal trainer.  If you think your diet needs some tweaking, go meet with a nutritionist.  Our bodies change over time, and we need to pay attention to their different needs.

The last 20 years as a retired athlete, I definitely continued to push myself professionally and personally, but I honestly failed to really test myself physically.  Don't get me wrong, I have maintained a healthy diet and exercised regularly, but for the last few years I have been craving some a change, and finally this month I took the plunge and did 2 things: (1) returned to yoga to gain back more flexibility and (2) got a personal trainer that is kicking my butt.  I will admit that I've been waking up sore just about every day, but you know what? It feels good.

They say "no pain, no gain."  It is indeed true-- so if you are tired of the status quo and want to implement some changes, I'm not going to lie, it is going to hurt a little-- or maybe a lot-- but work through the pain.  You will be so proud of yourself in the end, and who knows how many others you will inspire at the same time? But don't focus on the others-- just focus on challenging yourself to be the best you professionally, personally and physically!